No Shenanigans in the Temple
by Silver Days
Summary: A collection of one-shots following our favourite airbending pair's misadventures and moments to remember. Mostly set in and some time after Book 3. [Chapter 5: Euphoria up. Just a little trip to the beach.]
1. Illusion

I. _Illusion_

"And this one, as you see, is a cactus flower. It's one of the rarer, white ones. They only bloom one week a year and they smell _gorgeous",_ Jinora said and brought her nose closer to the flower's core to inhale its fragrance. It felt like a trip among fluffy spring clouds early morning with some euphoria sprinkled on, if that feeling would have a smell. As she got lost in the images induced by the shy flower, she noticed Kai was no longer by her side, but a few steps away.

"It really is beautiful," he said, but his attention was keenly focused in another point.

"My mother started this garden with the flowers my father'd bring her," Jinora recalled. She scooted closer to Kai, waiting for him to actually say a few words. She had always felt lighter and more blissful being in Pema's garden, surrounded by so many exotic pot flowers, so she found it a nice idea to show Kai one of her favourite places in the world. But he…

…is he listening?

"Kai? Are you there?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"How does the novel you say you've enjoyed the most look like?"

"It's a hardback book with blue and golden inscriptions," Jinora answered, not knowing why would he ask something like this out of the blue.

"So Meelo's doing something with _that one _book over there," Kai remarked and pointed to the beach, where Jinora's younger sibling was outrageously flirting the book like a fan.

"It's so _hot _out here," the boy said theatrically, then suddenly stopped. He wrinkled his nose and opened his mouth agape, then flipped Jinora's book open and let a sneeze wash over the thin paper.

"Meelo, give me back my book, right now," Jinora shouted over to him in one breath.

"Over my dead body," he ranted holding his trophy up in one hand and quickly disappeared behind a patch of bushes.

Jinora didn't think twice about coming after her brother and, most importantly, her favourite book, so she jumped off the balcony on an air cushion and rushed in his direction. Kai could barely blink given the rapidity of the events, but he decided to help Jinora and proceeded to follow her close behind.

She could hear Meelo's evil laughter, but she could see no sign of him.

"You're in such big trouble, Meelo," Jinora let him know. "I swear, if you do something you may regret…"

"I've never had any regrets," her brother said popping up behind a boulder, and so he hid the book under his robes and fled swiftly.

Jinora remained in her place, hands on her hips, staring in the distance. A smooth, but thick streak of orange began to creep in the horizon.

"You don't go after him?" Kai asked approaching her.

"He's going to get bored and leave the book somewhere in the dining room, so I'm not granting him satisfaction," she reckoned.

"You're lying. You simply know you can't catch him, so you gave up," he teased.

"I beg your pardon? I'm a master airbender and I can catch anyone," she said with a playful irritation. "Including you. Right now."

Kai stared at her for a moment, a gentle breeze playing with their hair.

"You want to catch _me?" _he said raising an eyebrow. "I've only been caught about," he sat a few seconds to ponder, "three times in my whole life."

"So you're afraid I might break your record," Jinora teased back.

"I am _not, _especially of _you,_" he said crossing his arms, which earned a bitter pout from Jinora. "Let's do it. No airbending."

"I agree. If I catch you until dinner, I win. If you manage to stay uncaught until then, you win."

"Well then, good luck," Kai briefly said and made a few steps away from her, gradually quickening his pace until he actually took to his heels and shoot Jinora a look that said, "It's on."

_It's so on, _she mentally responded and burst towards her friend.

Kai entered the grand hallways of the temple with a thunderous sound of boots hitting sandstone echoing through the high walls. Jinora shortly came after him, but he didn't keep a straight direction, taking the first hallway branch he saw. She could hear the sound too, crisp and non-airbender-ish.

The boy noticed the noise he was making too and struggled to make lighter steps. However, when he felt Jinora approaching, he pressed the acceleration pedal and tried to figure out how to escape the literal dead end that was facing him.

A wooden wall enveloped with ancient air nomad paintings.

Instead of trusting his speed and slipperiness, he chose to pull the wool over Jinora's eyes and jumped over to a balcony leading to the next floor, raising himself over the banister with legerity.

Jinora then realized that he is indeed a hard game, but didn't let his trick stay in her way and decided to take on an element of surprise and choose another way to the floor Kai was laying his steps on, albeit a longer one.

But he didn't know that.

So when he met the giant sky bison statue, he found it a good idea to play another trick on Jinora and hide behind it. Less than a minute passed when his eyes met Jinora's, who was coming from the opposite direction. He quickly changed the plan and rushed to another hallway, Jinora closely behind him. Kai knew how to not make his life harder, so he slipped into a chamber that had its door open, after taking another turn to the right.

In the few seconds he had to observe the room, he realized that it is, in fact, one of the great meditation halls which was crowded with stone pillars. He snuck behind one of them and waited. Jinora couldn't possibly find him in that spot.

She was indeed left a bit confused by his complicated trail, but she inferred that he might have entered a room. Suddenly, she stopped. She came to the realization that she was ignoring the easiest way of finding him without actually using airbending or spiritual projection in particular.

She could _sense _his energy like an incandescent source of light.

Jinora entered the meditation room on tippy toes. She was getting closer, but Kai couldn't feel the slightest hint of a foreign presence. She positioned herself on the other side of the very same pillar Kai was hiding behind and loudly tapped her feet to the floor, which prompted an almost instinctual reaction from the boy to run.

However, when Jinora noticed he got out of his hideout, she threw herself in front of him like a moose lion, the force of the collision knocking them down like two ragdolls. Jinora then found herself lying on a dizzied Kai's side.

"I guess this is the fourth time," she said with a jolly tone and placed a peck on his cheek. "See you at dinner!"

After she left the room, Kai was still lying outstretched on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

_Of course she cheated, _he said to himself and suddenly felt a faint cactus flower fragrance teasingly tickling his nose, like an illusion.

* * *

**A/N: Most of these stories will take place while they're still in the friend phase, so expect lots of childish fun with a hint of innocent fluff rather than Disney level romance. Also, lots of thanks to Hope7 for giving everything a beta!**


	2. Sugar

II. _Sugar_

Kai's nose was glued to the window, small circles of steam pulsating on the glass under his bated breath. It felt cold, but enchanting and thrilling at the same time. How little particles of light were dancing chaotically one second and fell in straight line the next one, thickening something that looked like a blanket of powdered clouds. It felt strange.

"You can't be serious that this is the first time you see snow."

"Actually, it is. The place were I've been living was surrounded by desert and didn't even have a decent rainfall for weeks straight, let alone snow," Kai informed. Even the word had a strange feeling surrounding it, the letters falling out of his mouth with a bizarre cadence. "Snow," he repeated to himself to feel it again, his gaze captured by the millions of descending crystals.

Jinora smiled. It was nice to see him being enthralled by such a beautiful, albeit mundane phenomenon. Truth is, she had always been excited by the first snowfall. By winter and everything about it. She couldn't wait to show Kai the joys of the season. He had so many things to find out about and experience. Most notably, feeling balls of snow and Jinorian wrath crashing on his unexpecting back. But better take one thing at a time and let him in on the real joys firstly.

"I'd heard about it, but never actually _seen_ snow," he added and sneered. "It looks funny."

"It's fun, too," Jinora said tapping on the window. "Wanna get outside and find out what all this is about?"

Kai furrowed his brow. "You go outside on a weather like this?"

Jinora giggled. "If it's cold, it doesn't mean it harms you. And airbenders can regulate their body temperature, too." The slightest bit of disappointment crept into her voice. "But it's okay if you don't want to go."

"Are you kidding me?" Kai said, facing her. He opened the window with a slight movement, letting a thin veil of cold sprinkled with snowflakes enter the room. "Let's go."

Jinora approved with a beaming smile. The two let themselves fall gracefully on the ground. Kai enjoyed the funny sound the snow under his feet was making when he pressed himself on it - grush, frush. Billions of snowflakes brushing between each other. It sounded like...rubber? That would be a good term of comparison. He then took a handful of snow to watch it closer, but was taken aback by the sudden feeling of thousands of icy needles piercing into his skin.

"This is colder than I expected," Kai remarked, running the snow through his fingers and watching it melt.

"But if you're like Meelo, you'll enjoy eating it. Although I'd advise you to better not," said Jinora looking for a key object. She was sure it was hidden somewhere around, but it was harder to find during snowfall.

"I...am not doing that," Kai grimaced. But he did press his tongue to the snow he'd gathered, making a mental note to not do that again because of the flat taste.

"You know what people often do in the winter? Sledding. In the South Pole, they like to sled on penguins' back, but we'll have to make do with this," Jinora said gesturing towards a newlyfound meditation mat.

Kai raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, Jinora told him, "We do have a real sled, but I can't really find it."

The boy took a few moments to formulate a realization. "Oh, if you're talking about that wooden board with iron thingies that lay under the bush over there, I kinda used it to pick up some berries," he admitted innocently. "I don't think it's going to work for some time."

Jinora wanted to ask how on earth and why, but instead, she decided to condemn him to a thunderous ride on the steepest slope on the island. For the sake of fun, of course.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"You are asking _me_ if I'm ready?. I think you are the one who should brace himself," Jinora said with a grin.

"You're not getting me off this sledding mat," Kai teased.

"Not yet." The girl sent a powerful air gust backwards and in a split second, the two were cutting through air and snow at a blinding speed. The shy snowflakes now seemed more like tiny daggers rather than innocent sugar crystals. Jinora, who was expertly steering the mat, could barely see through the hailstorm and struggled to hold on and keep their balance. Meanwhile, Kai was holding onto her and was laughing hungrily.

He had _no_ worries.

Jinora thought that she might have pushed them too hard just to surprise Kai. The rocky path they were gliding towards looked like it wouldn't show any kindness if they crashed into it. Their trail was close to vertical. It was a disaster that had to be averted.

She airbended the improvised sled into the air to jump over the obstacle, and while they were descending from a generous height, the gravity worked her magic faster than Jinora and attracted the two onto a pile of fresh snow.

Miraculously, they landed in one piece, still sitting on the sled. Kai opened his eyes, sparkling with tears of excitement. Jinora's face, however, was deprived of any warm blood. But they were safe, she thought and let out a sigh full of relief. However, before they could notice, the mat started to drift away again and this time, it stopped into a nearby tree. The tall chenar, whose leaves were now melted into the ground, shook of its icy crown all over them.

Yellow fabric now covered by snow, they looked like freshly baked cookies.

"Let's do this again," said Kai after getting up and ruffling his hair.

Jinora leaned on the tree to raise herself on her feet. "You are not exactly an example of sanity," she forced herself to laugh, but her cheeks were frozen.

"What? I thought you do this on a regular during winter. I had fun," he beamed.

"Well, not on a regular. I mean, you might break something if you don't handle this properly." Jinora looked at him hoping he would relate, but without success. She let out a steamy breath. "But you know what we do even more often?"

"Surprise me."

Jinora wanted to do exactly that. She furtively rolled a handful of snow into a snowball and threw it straight towards Kai; for the sake of fun and reservation-free.

His natural reflexes were something he was born with. He learned to think and act fast and be quick and clever. When he noticed the snowball flying threatingly towards him, he instantly redirected it with an air gust soft enough not to scrape away the snow, but strong enough to knock Tenzin off his feet when he was strolling casually in the victinity on one of the wooden pathways. A snowball hit him out of the blue.

Kai's face was written with shock. Jinora subsequently grabbed his hand and dragged him inside the temple on the shortest way possible, making rubber grush-frush noises all the way there.

"Getawaygetawaygetaway-"

Sometimes, sipping innocently on a mug of hot chocolate in front of a fireplace while Tenzin is getting the snow out of his shawl can be one of the winter's sweetest joys, too.

* * *

**A/N: I decided to put this one up while it's still April and not scorching hot. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Shelter

III. _Shelter_

Three little night-blue coloured berries fall on the counter as Jinora reaches for the bowl and nudges it mistakenly. She carefully flips a page of her book as she takes the fruit to her mouth. Her eyes search for the lost line –

– _there it is, _she says to herself and pats the yellowish page with her index. As she reads the first sentence, she hears a barely audible whisper coming from the hallway. She raises her eyes and she encounters someone she hasn't seen the whole day.

"Psst, Jinora! Come here."

She obliges and closes the book, leaning off the chair. As she gets closer, she notices he is trying to hide something. Jinora opens her mouth to ask, but Kai wordlessly takes his hands from under his orange shawl to reveal his treasure.

A sea vulture chick.

"Kai, that's…"

"I found him near the training zone. I don't really know how he got there. He can't fly and I think he's lost from his parents," he interrupts her.

Jinora acknowledges and crosses her arms, taking a wild guess of what he is going to say. "So you want to keep it."

Kai nods. Jinora raises her hand to pet the bird's head, but it opens its beak threateningly. After a moment, he lowers his head and allows to be touched. She brushes her fingers on the bird's feathers and feels both vulnerability and power. _He's so cute and tiny_, she thinks. Then she remembers why she is having this fluff ball in front of her, away from its natural habitat.

"Do you actually know how to take care of something like this?" Jinora asks and moves her gaze from one bowed head to another. "It's a predator bird. People don't keep them as pets."

Kai wrinkles his nose and brings the chick closer to his chest. "I'm not keeping him as a pet. I'll take care of him until he grows up and can fend for his own."

A tornado formed of a million things that could go wrong springs in Jinora's mind, but she lets him continue, balancing on the balls of her feet.

"And he'll be up and ready in no time. Wanna give a helping hand?"

She sighs soundly and turns her head sideways. She could feel his stare burning into the back of her neck.

"C'mon, Jin," Kai begs, "I thought you weren't against giving an orphan a chance to a new life." He adds a pair of puppy eyes to the mix, determined to succeed.

Jinora's safety net is vanquished. She _hates _when he does that. She rolls on her feet to show him she can make a face too, but she doesn't try too much to win. It's not a contest anyway when the winner is known.

"Fine, I was never going to stop you. But try not to make it too obvious that you're keeping such thing in your dormitory. We'll take care of…"

"Smokey," he adds after a second of thinking.

"Yes. Smokey," she repeats. _What's with him and these names? _Before Jinora could say the sentence in her mind, Kai breezes past her in success, hitting the road to his room and leaving her unaware of his intentions.

"But you must promise me you're not going to use the orphan thing as my weak point from now on," she manages to blurt out.

"I will make no such promises," he says in response before disappearing behind a corner of the hallway.

* * *

"He's quite a mischievous ball of feathers," Kai beams, holding the bird on one of his shoulders.

"I'm sure you two get along very well," Jinora says trying to balance the airball ball on some air currents.

Smooth sun beams ooze through the thick canopy, painting the air in bright golden stripes.

"Not all the time. He loves screwing up the nest we've made for him and my floor is covered with straws."

"I've noticed," Jinora says catching the ball with her hand. "I visited your room this morning, remember?"

"If you're so fond of coming into my room, maybe you could help me out cleaning up the mess," he teases.

"Since when do you mind a little mess?" she asks raising an eyebrow.

"I mind it if it's a lot and on my fluffy bed. He also smudges the covers with the rice balls I bring him."

"Maybe you should get used to it," she smirks. "He's still just a baby."

"Maybe you should try keeping him in your room."

"Maybe you should try watching out for that pole," Jinora says pointing out in front of him.

Kai stops just a few inches shy from one of the great wooden poles that compose the airball court and Jinora laughs at his sudden encounter. Dozens of them erect from the ground and cast bold shadows over the two airbenders. The poles are guarded by two newly crafted gates.

"I'm in shape today, so you're gonna lose," Kai says nonchalantly.

"We'll find out after putting Smokey in a safe place. Try that stone over there. It's not too far from the ground and it's not going to be hit by any wild flying balls. Although," she continues with a sassy grin, "I'm not into the habit of placing shots at random like other people."

"But man do you miss a lot," Kai nags as he places the bird on his watcher seat. Jinora sticks her tongue out while his back is turned. "Let's get this started already," he continues stretching his arms.

"Whenever you're ready."

"I'm always ready," he says confidently, prepared to get off the ground.

This time, he does hit the pole.

* * *

"Did you find him?"

"Nope," Jinora answers with a long sigh. "I think he might have returned to the temple. I'm not sure, but I think it's worth a shot."

Kai gets his head out of the bush he was ruffling his way through, a desperate look on his face.

"It is," he answers shortly, then proceeds to head back home, with Jinora following him.

* * *

Leaving surprises on several freshly moped floors, making a big jug of milk meet the carpet, scraping several possibly important papers on Tenzin's office, dismantling a few clothes hung out to dry and leaving surprises on the meditation floor, too. Smokey is found guilty of all of them, but miraculously not for being caught by other people than Kai and Jinora, which quickly take him to the nest and come back to fix everything the bird has done.

"I've been thinking about it," says Jinora as she drags a wet rag across the marble floor. "You can keep him in your room."

"I'll try," Kai says between huffs and puffs as he brushes the carpet furiously. "But I think he's kinda fed up with staying in one single place."

"He'll have to get used to it. Taking him around the island for a walk, yes. But otherwise, you'll have to confine him somehow."

She stops as she hears a familiar voice sound in her ears.

"Can you explain me why this awesome little bad vulture was jumping around in my room? I was trying to build the best pillow fort ever, but he keeps interrupting me with –"

Meelo makes a few fluttering noises, mimicking the bird that is just approaching. "And it torn off the roof. Doesn't accept to be my trusty soldier either," he says while Kai picks the escaped bird from the floor.

"You keep this a secret and we'll negotiate everything later," Jinora demanded.

"We have a deal. But dad won't be happy about this Jinoraa," Meelo shouts as he trails off back to his fortress.

A few seconds of awkward silence pass heavily.

"We have a problem," Kai states bluntly.

"Wait until he learns how to fly properly," Jinora says and Kai almost trips over the water bucket.

* * *

Two months and two tons of tension later, Smokey is a grown-up and fully energetic vulture. A feeling of relief and slight sourness fills the air as Jinora and Kai lead him to the shore for his official liberation. They pet his head for the last time, his feathers having grown longer and sturdier. The vulture flips his wings, his legs on one of each of the two airbender's hands and his gaze meeting the horizon line where the ocean and the sky meet peacefully. With a slight movement, Kai and Jinora lift their hands and let Smokey embrace freedom. His wings flap with a 'huff' sound and, after a few clumsy moments, he slashes through the air and raises himself to the clouds.

Kai watches the bird getting lost through the mists of the morning, his eyes sparkling with fulfillment and melancholy.

"Kai?"

"I'm not crying," he quickly implies. "The wasabi salad's been really spicy."

"I was going to suggest that we go after him to find out where's heading. You know…we can fly, too."

"Oh." Kai puffs soundly and raises his gaze, rubbing his eyes briefly. "Thanks for helping me take care of Smokey. It's been a crazy time."

She reaches to his shoulder and places a caring hand on it. "It's you who's been a great parent. I guess I can learn a few things from you, bird tamer."

He laughs softly. "The last one there does the other one's dishes?"

"Bet on it," Jinora answers as she readily opens her glider.

They pursue Smokey over the bay, flying alongside him and letting themselves dive into a potent feeling of freedom. He settles on a rocky cliff half a mile away from the island, sprinkled with various bird nests, and the two airbenders know this is where he will pass his life from now on. They return contently, hoping to meet Smokey again at some point.

And he keeps coming back, sometimes dragging his own babies along.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is actually the first thing I've written for this collection, but I ultimately decided to rearrange the order and save it for later. Oh, and Kai + animals seems to me a combination almost as fitting as Kai + Jinora.**


	4. Confined

IV. _Confined_

Jinora hated not being able to do anything. Despite being a typically calm and peaceful person, she always had a jolt of energy lying in her limbs that told her to get up and make herself useful. But now, she thought she wasn't any more useful than a broken glider. She was going to lay in her bed for a week, confined in a bunch of white sheets soaked with an uncomfortable warmth, her headache hurtfully keeping her eyes open. The ceiling was mocking her state of vulnerability. _Huh, you look like a boiled sea kumquat. I'll be here with you for a long time and you can do nothing about it._

She began seeing enemies in the walls that surrounded her and especially in the ceiling. The only thing that was still on her side was the stuffed cat owl she was holding between her and the pillow mountain. She had been her friend since Jinora was three and her name was Maopi. Nobody knew she was still playing with Maopi from time to time. It was a secret she liked to confine.

Jinora was starting to feel sleepy. That was a consequence of fighting the headache too much. She had to fly the white flag and go to sleep. While most of the airbenders where flying around in a glider race and Tenzin was introducing them to traditional air nomad instruments. This was one of the 'more interesting' days and she had to stay away from everything. Stupid cold.

While she was trying to close her eyes, she heard the floor creak with an unpleasant sound. Steps. Creaking floor. Steps. Creaking floor. And it was getting closer. Finally, it was her door that was opened carefully. After a pair of green eyes spotted Jinora lying peacefully in the bed with her eyes open, the person decided to enter.

"I heard you were out of order."

Jinora's face lightened up with a big smile, the corners of her mouth pushing her cheeks to put pressure on her aching eyes. But she was happy to see Kai. She managed to hide Maopi behind the pillow she was leaning on.

"Unfortunately. Hi, Kai. Are you not going to attend the _history class_?"

The boy dragged a chair near her bed and sat down on it, taking care to hide something from Jinora's hazy gaze.

"We've actually finished. I had fun for once," Kai said happily.

"So you sat through all of it? That's a first. What did you do?"

"Oh, your father began to tell us about the traditional air nomad music and each one of us had an instrument. I had a bamboo flute. When we were going to start playing some random notes, Oogi began headbutting some sacred moon peach tree and we had to take a break. For good," Kai recounted. "Want a moon peach?"

Jinora giggled. "Thanks, but no. My stomach isn't in the mood for sweet treats."

"That's so bad," he said and took a bite from the fleshy fruit. "I don't even know how you managed to get this cold, I thought you were invincible."

"It happens," Jinora answered shortly. "I'm not really enjoying it."

"I figured it out," said Kai, rising the tone of his voice. "So I thought this might make you a _wee bit_ happier." The boy held the peach with his mouth and got the object he brought her out of its hideout. Jinora's eyes gleamed and she let out a soft laugh.

"And what are you going to do with that?" she asked amused.

"I'm gonna read it to you," he said taking another look at the book's cover. It read _The Dragon's Lairs, _golden letters over an expressive illustration.

"You're reading it to me? Uhm, okay. That's real nice of you." Jinora meant it, but she didn't want to tell Kai that she had already read the book twice and was halfway through the third-time reading. It was both strange and fulfilling seeing him being so interested in one of her novels.

"But would you mind telling me how you got your hands on this book?" she asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Less questions, more listening," Kai mumbled while searching for the first page. After finding it, he settled into the lotus position and cleared his throat. Jinora brought herself on the bed's backrest using her elbows, willing to hear him _read._

The book started with a prologue.

"From what I've seen, everyone gets to experience their own miracle. For instance, I will never be hit by any lightning bolt, nor get to be the Fire Lord, nor be attacked by a flock of angry buzzard wasps. But if you put all these unlikely things, al…to…" he stumbled a bit, "…altogether, at least one of them will happen to one of us. I could've seen Sozin's Comet. I could've reached the outer space. I could've married a water tribe heiress." Kai furrowed his brow. "Is this going to be the whole book?"

"Just keep reading," Jinora beamed.

Kai searched for the end of the paragraph. "But the biggest miracle I've ever experienced was meeting Xiyi, one of the most magnificent creatures I've ever seen." He raised his eyes. "I guess this is the dragon from the title."

Jinora approved wordlessly.

Kai turned over a few pages to see where the prologue ends and the real story begins, and finally decided to continue with chapter one. He read through it skipping a few 'boring paragraphs', then closed the book, keeping a finger where he left.

"These were only ten pages? Reading surely is exhausting," he said rubbing his forehead.

"Does it seem interesting?"

"It actually does," Kai answered. "I wonder why it says the dragon will leave him. It seems like they're forming a deep bonding." He stopped, realizing what just slipped out of his mouth. "I, uh, didn't mean to spoil it for you, it says so on the summary…"

"It doesn't matter, Kai," she acted out. "If you are so excited to see why, maybe you should go to, let's say, chapter ten."

He shrugged and proceeded to read the chapter, this time, without skipping any words. Sometimes, Jinora thought he seemed like he was actually attracted by the story and was reading it to himself. His gaze was caressing every letter and whoever teached him how to read, they did a nice job, Jinora thought. But the apparent trance was broken when he raised his eyes and turned a few pages swiftly to reach the end of the chapter.

"I don't understand why writers love describing lots of things with lots of words," he complained briefly and sighed. "My mouth is all dried out."

"Go drink some lychee juice hidden in the kitchen. It should be on the highest shelf, behind some tea boxes. It's your reward for doing such a nice job."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind." He shifted in his chair, not wanting to leave her just yet. "So, you like the book?"

Jinora sat a few moments to ponder. Should she tell him, or let him read it all to her without knowing…

"Actually," she began, "I've read this book. Twice. It's one of my favourites because it includes lots of mystery and I always had fun reading it. I never actually knew where the Xiyi was hiding."

Kai made a surprised look, but he somehow expected that from her. Jinora, after all, may know what happens in books she never read.

"That sounds cool. Could you tell me how he finds him?"

"Why are you so sure he's going to find Xiyi?"

"Because it wouldn't be that much of a story if he didn't reunite with his beloved dragon. And even _I _know that," Kai reckoned leaning back on the chair.

"Well, you can burrow the book to find out. I'm not going to tell you and there's no way of making me do that. You won't regret."

"Maybe I'll do it… Or maybe we'll see the play on Ember Island later next month. One of the new airbenders said they visited the place and they were making an adaptation. You - we - can go see it if you'll get better."

Jinora blinked. She had heard many things about Ember Island, but never got to visit it. There were a number of places she wanted to see so badly. _How nice would it be to travel the world. We're air nomads, after all, _she thought. But she knew that her people would regain this lifestyle sooner than later, her father's promise. Until then...

"Kai, I'm not going to be sick for that long." Jinora brought closer to the edge of the bed. "Well, that's partially because you made me feel a wee bit better."

"A wee bit?"

"Hey, that was your goal," she laughed.

The door of her room opened once again quietly.

"Jinora, I'm going to bring you the lunch in a few minutes," Pema said with a smile, then turned her face to the other person in the room. "Well, hello, Kai. Lunch is coming for you, too, but you'll have to come in the dining room. Better leave Jinora for a while, because she doesn't feel quite good."

"It's okay, mom. I'm not dealing with war wounds. I'm almost fine," Jinora reassured her.

"Well, you need to rest until there's no 'almost'. And Kai, lunch, okay? Also, thank you for keeping Jinora company. I bet she's been feeling lonely, with everyone having work to do here and there," the woman beamed and Jinora's cheeks flushed faintly.

Pema closed the door and headed to prepare the table for lunch.

"So, shall I come back with chapter eleven?" Kai asked getfing off his chair.

"Sure. If that's what you want to, I'm here. But you'd better stay away for a longer time because I don't wanna curse you with this cold, too."

"Oh, no. I'd miss the history class," he said with a dash of sarcasm and Jinora giggled. "Well, see you on the evening then. I'll help Pema with the preparations. I'm glad I got to talk with you." He put a hand on her forehead. "And you actually seem fine for the moment."

Jinora grinned, then brought a hand to her mouth to cover a cough. Kai sighed and got another peach out, placing it next to Jinora. "This is the dessert. A little sweetness won't do bad to you."

The girl raised her eyes to meet his own, a pale streak of light emerging through the window onto his robes. "Yeah, it won't."

After he left, Jinora felt a heavy silence filling the room. Being lonely now seemed harder to deal with than the headache that was pulsating inside her. She closed her eyes, hoping to refresh herself for a few moments, and took Maopi in her arms. Jinora was happy Kai visited her, yet she could've done without him eventually noticing her secret childhood toy. But after all, there are some people worth unconfining for.

* * *

**A/N: As much as I don't enjoy the idea of slipping pop culture references in places unrelated to it, I couldn't help but making a few painfully obvious hints towards a trending book nowadays (which is going to get a movie in July, too). Can you figure out what it is?**


	5. Euphoria

V. _Euphoria_

"What do you prefer: sunrise or dusk?"

His words lingered in the salty air for a few moments. Jinora thoughtfully brought her fingers to her lips and stared into the crystal horizon.

"I think I like sunrise more. It is the most peaceful time of the day and everything seems more peaceful and just... perfect. Not to mention that you get to see this kind of things," she pointed out with her eyes the portion of the sun disk that was throning over the sea. Jinora loved getting lost into this image every day, a strange feeling of cold and warmth brewing inside her.

Kai yawned, but kept his eyes on the pulsating water, pure and mysterious.

"The sea really looks great now," he said with a husky voice, a reminder that he wasn't exactly a morning person. He inhaled deeply and felt a wave of energy running inside him, rubbed his eyes and smiled contently. "Yep, I guess I've just woken up."

"Good, because we have along day of practicing waiting for us after the morning meditation and culture class, which I'll lead," she grinned. Kai nodded, but his mind was traveling to other places. Jinora could tell that, but before she could ask, he already let go of his air nomad robes and ran to the sea, throwing himself into the gentle waves.

"Kai, get out of there! What did I just say?" she asked with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She stepped closer to the water, waiting for him to come back. "Kai!"

The boy surfaced after a few moments, his wet hair slicked back carelessly. He spit out a bit of salty water collected in his mouth and lay back floating on the water.

"Care to join me?" he grinned.

"Are you nuts? We have to go in in a few minutes! It's absolutely not the time for a bath," she scolded.

"Oh, come on, Jinora, we've been training the whole week. I've been so busy I barely got a potty break in all those hours. I think it's absolutely the time we should get some time off, and especially you."

Jinora let out a long sigh and crossed her arms. She bent down to fold his clothes properly, placing them under a stone to avoid being swept away by the wind.

"I know you'd enjoy it. Besides, the water is _so_ nice and warm."

"Kai, it's already past the time we should be there, you have to get out of the water quick." She could barely finish her sentence when a veil of water hit her, soaking every bit of material she was wearing. Jinora stared at him in shock, but she already made up her mind. She stripped off the clothes that were sticking to her body and stepped into the water, which earned a large lopsided grin from Kai. When she got closer to him, she forced a gust of air into the water to splash him all over.

"Not fair, you shouldn't use airbending," he protested.

"Oh, excuse me then. I did not know that the guy who made me abandon a strict daily routine that's of a great importance cared about rules."

"Fine," he laughed and splashed her back. She swiftly countered the water with a soft blow.

"I don't think I can afford to get my hair damp," she informed.

"Okay, miss funkiller," he pouted and raised himself over an incoming wave. He suddenly realized that the wind was blowing harder and the waves were getting taller, which only gave them a reason to stay. Jinora's thoughts, however, were the opposite.

The water was undulating constantly under the already blazing sun.

"Kai, I think we should get out of the water. Even the sea is getting mad at us. We could always come back when our schedule is free," she muttered anxiously, knowing they were already late.

"If you don't want to get your hair damp, you ought to jump along with the wave like this," he demonstrated, then swam a few feet away. He stretched out a hand to Jinora, grinning contently. She accepted and scooted closer, the stubborn water raising to the level of their shoulders.

As the sea currents were getting stronger, their laughs were getting louder. Each wave hit with a force strong enough to knock them down, but the two airbenders managed to flow along with them. Jinora's worries were wiped out of her mind, scattered between sun and water and chased away by her friend's bubbly laugh. A school of small fish was strolling among their feet as they forced themselves to jump over another big wave.

"Kai, but if, you know, someone spots us..."

"Don't worry, Jin," he said with a smooth tone, and turned his face towards the skyline. "I think _that_ should be your worry for now."

A monster of a wave was racing to the shore, building up with an unsettling line of white foam and a darker shade of blue. Jinora watched the wave with much interest, part of her contemplating the image, and the other part knowing she would soon get pushed back to the shore by the sheer force that was coming towards her. Kai put his arms around her and she jumped at the sudden sensation of his skin over hers. "Brace youself," he briefly told her, and as the wave was getting closer, he let themselves immerse into the water.

Jinora squeezed her eyes shut, and before she could get out to the air herself, Kai already lifted her back up. She realized that, even though he had helped her counter the huge wave, her hair subsequently got wet and enveloped in a thin layer of salt. She opened her eyes and brushed the hair away from her face, only to see Kai do the same thing.

"Well, I had fun and all, but what are we going to do now?" she asked, almost with resignation. "It's gonna take a while before we can be back and even so, we'we'll have some explanations to give."

"Then we don't," he answered simply, getting a streak of hair out of Jinora's eye. "Just keep swimming and enjoying the sun. And it looks like I've just discovered a little water lover."

She gazed at him in a playful annoyance, countering the options. They alreasy missed meditation and her father was going to lecture them on everything they'd done anyway. She couldn't even remember the last time she went swimming, so there was really nothing there to lose.

"You convinced me, turtle duck," she beamed. "If I had a coin for every time you got me in trouble, I would -"

She was interrupted by a prompt Kai who raised both of themselves over another tall wave, making Jinora fall into the now more welcoming water.

"You would, but you'd never cease to like it," he teased with a smile.

As she raised her body above the water and saw him grinning at her, both of them covered in salty water and pieces of algae and their hearts racing like crazy from the battles with the waves, she realized that maybe she simply _had_ to be then and there.


End file.
